Reflection

1.  There are so many things that I have learned in this class that help me to understand how the world works.  The one thing that I feel really helped me was learning the differences between cultures.  I never really did realize how different each and ever country is, and even the difference within a country.  Each country has its own standards, whether that is physical standards like money or measurements or social standards like not smiling to people on the street or social interaction and greetings.

2.  I am extremely fascinated by the evolution of technology and how that has shaped international trading and the economy.  The world is becoming smaller at such a remarkable rate.  Someday I hope to come up with a new technology that will change the world and it is remarkable how much each new technology changes the world.  For example, the container has simply revolutionized the trading industry.  I am so curious to know what the next big innovation will be and how it will shape the world economy.

3.  I would tell a student taking this class to be prepared to learn about some very interesting and applicable information.  There is not another class on campus, as far as I know, that will better prepare you for traveling the world.  It is important to understand how the world works and the way of life of other cultures before traveling or living there, and this course did a fantastic job of that.  A bit of advice would be plan on going abroad.  I do not plan on going abroad in the fall but now I wish that I was.  Now that I have such a great background of France, I wish that I would have applied to go in the fall.

Is France trying to 'kill off' the e-cigarette? (6/4/2013)

A typical e-cigarette advertisement

On Friday (May 31st), France's health minister, Marisol Touraine, decided to establish "the same laws for electronic cigarettes as for regular cigarettes."  This means that they will not be allowed in certain public places, the legal age will be 16, and advertising will be prohibited.  Many physicians are outraged because there is no medical evidence proving that the electronic cigarettes are even dangerous.    The French Office for Tobacco Prevention reported that, "Right now, we don't know enough about the products [in e-cigarettes]...to our knowledge, appropriately made and used, it presents infinitely fewer dangers than [regular] cigarettes."  Dr William Lowenstein gave an interview with France 5 on May 16 about the benefits of the e-cigarettes and claims that, "...the benefits of e-cigarettes are undeniable."  I was interested in the interview so I was able to find it on youtube and have provided it below.  It is all in French but I was able to turn on English captions.  The words are directly translated so it is not completely clear.  Nonetheless, the point of the interview can still be made out.  The article continues to talk about the cigarette and then jumps to "a lucrative market."  The e-cigarette raked in 40 million euros in 2012 and is expected to make 100 million in 2013.  New laws against e-cigarettes will easily cut these projected numbers down.  

The interview with Dr William Lowenstein
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFgNVCR7yH8

It is very easy to see how these new laws will effect the cigarette market.  First of all, regular cigarettes have been seeing a huge drop in sales due to these newer, more healthy, e-cigarettes.  The regular cigarettes now have a competitor that by far exceeds their quality.  I would expect regular cigarette companies to quickly go out of business because the demand is now for e-cigarettes, not regular cigarettes.  The e-cigarette companies are simply supplying a better product that regular cigarette companies will not be able to compete with.  On the other hand, with the new government regulations, the e-cigarette companies will see a hit in sales in the near future.  They will be losing all sales to people under the age of 16, and the demand will decrease because people simply will not be able to smoke everywhere anymore.  We have not talked much about advertising in class but it is quite obvious that if there is no advertising, sales will decrease.  

The government has recently placed this law but I feel that it will soon change.  The medical evidence clearly shows that they are much safer than traditional cigarettes, therefore, they should be treated differently by the law.  I would expect this law to be altered in the near future due to medical research and statistical evidence.  If the law was to be changed, the e-cigarette companies would continue to see an increase in sales over the next few years.  

Article Link: http://www.france24.com/en/20130531-france-trying-kill-e-cigarette-marisol-touraine

City Analysis: Strasbourg, France

1.  Strasbourg has a population of approximately 760,000 people.  This puts Strasbourg as a regional city.  This makes Strasbourg the 9th largest city in France.  Some other smaller cities in and around Strasbourg include Eschau, Plobsheim and Mundalsheim.  Another large city near Strasbourg is across the border; Offenburg, Germany.

2.  Strasbourg offers a very large transportation industry.  This includes many warehouses and train depots due to Strasbourg's close proximity with Germany.  In addition, Strasbourg includes several universities including the Université de Strasbourg, the university that I will be attending.  Something that is unavailable in Strasbourg is a large public transportation system.  Larger cities like Paris will have many public transportation option such as trams, but Strasbourg does not have any trams.

EGT Consulting: Vehicle Market Executive Summary- France

France has a relatively high GDP per capita making the motor scooter simply too cheap to buy, especially with the increase in environmental awareness.  France is very dependent upon its cars as a mode of transportation but with the recent plans to further develop the train and tram systems, it is likely that car sales will drastically decrease.  The limousine market is brightest avenue to pursue.  France is home to dozens of global business empires with hundreds of executives and ambassadors who will most likely move by means of a limousine.  Paris is also a very common wedding location as well as honeymoon destination which has also proven to be quite profitable in the limousine market.  France has a well-established container transportation system with several major seaports.  Containers will be easily moved from ship to warehouse via trucks.  

French economy falls back into recession (5/21/13)

French 24's report on the new numbers released about the French economy*.

The French economy has fallen back into recession, a recession affecting the 17-nation eurozone that has lasted for the past 6 quarters.  This recession is statistically longer than the slump that hit the region during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.  According to the article, French GDP has dropped by 0.2 in the first quarter of 2013, which is neither progress nor setback from the previous quarter.  The national statistics agency INSEE reported "weak exports and drop in investment and household spending as factors in the decline."  INSEE reported that investment lost 0.9 percent, business investment lost 0.8 percent and exports lost 0.5 percent in this most recent quarter.  In addition, INSEE also reported household consumption dropped by 0.1 percent, which was extremely surprising despite a particularly cold winter that would cause higher spending on energy.

This entire article is related to the GDP equation described in class...
              GDP = Consumption + Investment + Government + (Exports - Imports)
The article even revealed the numbers associated with each aspect of the equation and it is clear as to why GDP has been dropping in the recent quarters.  The very first thing that the news spokeswoman said in the video related to the story was "Consumption, investments and exports ALL down."  This is clearly the reason why the GDP has been dropping.  Unfortunately, this is not what France needs to know; France needs to know why these aspects of GDP are dropping and how to reverse them.  I would expect that the French government will be doing all it can to get France's economy back to where it used to be.  Unfortunately, it seems that the government is "belt-tightening."  I would assume this would imply increased taxes on consumers and businesses, which is simply hurting every aspect of the economy.  Businesses are simply closing down and consumers just aren't buying goods, which is going to hurt the GDP even more.

I have not been following the European recession for the length of its life but if I had to guess, I would assume that the economy is suffering because jobs simply are being outsourced.  I would expect that France is experiencing things similar to the United States, where huge employers are simply going to where the labor is cheap.  Transportation costs have dropped so much in the past years that it is more profitable to send the raw materials to where the labor is cheap and ship the finished goods around the world from there.  The way to reverse what is happening in France is to create more jobs there.  French companies keep cutting jobs when they need to be creating them.  One of my previous news blog posts was about how a bank was cutting thousands of jobs in Paris.  France needs to get manufacturing back in the country so that exports can increase, as well as consumption because people will have money in their pockets from the jobs.  A policy that could influence this could be to create high taxes on imported goods so that companies will create the goods in state.  This may have some repercussions, however, because other countries will retaliate and they may create their own high taxes on imported goods.

Article: http://www.france24.com/en/20130515-france-economy-recession-insee

*The video showed above is not the video I referenced in my writing.  The video I reference can be found in the article, simple click on the link above.

"The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger" by Marc Levinson: Chapter 1

1.  A selection that I found particularly interesting was when the author was talking about the movement of shipping crates.  I never did realize how many crates were actually being moved at a fairly quick rate.  It seems that the unloading and loading of crates is a well oiled machine that has revolutionized the movement of goods.  "The process is repeated every two minutes, or even every ninety seconds, each crane moving 30 or 40 boxes an hour from ship to dock."  The crane is simultaneously loading and unloading the ship for the next shipment.  It is absolutely astonishing to me how many goods are being moved in such a short amount of time now.

2.  The author sees that the development of the shipping container has drastically contributed to globalization.  This is even clear in the title of the book "how the shipping container made the world smaller..."  The world truly has become smaller.  The author describes how a shipment of 35-tons of coffeemakers can move 11,000 miles around the world in as little as 22 days.  The author also talks about how pharmaceutical companies would not even see the benefit from trying to send drugs abroad because of the shipping costs but nowadays, with very limited shipping costs, it is possible to ship necessary drugs virtually anywhere.  In addition, the author talks about how other countries are getting involved.  For example, although Apple computers are designed and developed in California, these crates make it possible for Apple to ship raw materials to China, and in return, get thousands of Macbook Pros.  The shipping container has certainly contributed greatly to globalization.

3.  I believe that it is pretty clear who will gain and lose from this major transformation of global transportation.  First of all, it is pretty clear that big businesses will gain from this change.  Companies are reducing their shipping costs greatly with the change in transportation.  Any money that was previously spent on shipping is now profit.  In addition, this change will lead to expansion because companies will be able to ship their goods all over the world with very little costs.  In addition, this can create jobs for underdeveloped countries.  Big businesses will send raw materials to where the labor is cheap, creating thousands of jobs in underdeveloped countries.  On the other hand, this means that the same businesses will be cutting jobs in the United States and moving them to where the labor in cheap. The author also touches on how small businesses will suffer from this transformation.  "...factories in Malaysia could deliver blouses to Macy's in Herald Square more cheaply than could blouse manufacturers in the nearby lofts of New York's garment district."  This does not seem like it will turn out well for small businesses who do not have to ability to lower prices to compete with these global businesses.

French Bank Société Générale announces job cuts after profit slump (5/7/13)

The French bank, Société Générale, plans to cut more than a thousand jobs after reporting that the first-quarter net profit fell by half to 364 million euros.  This cut will call for the loss of about 550 jobs at the bank's headquarters in Paris.  The bank employs over 150,000 people throughout the world including 60,000 in France.  

This series of job cuts may result in a decrease of the national GDP of France as well as in other countries.  In all countries where the bank's jobs will be cut, there will be a decrease in consumption due to less money in the people's pockets.  On the other hand, the bank plans to invest 600 million euros which should balance out the changes in GDP in France.  I would not expect this to really effect the GDP too much because I expect the bank to get back to where it was and the economy should strengthen.  It will be interesting to observe any drastic changes in the economy due to the sudden increase of unemployment.  

What led to this situation was the decrease in money made by the bank.  The bank looks at those 154,000 jobs as expenses and the bank wants to decrease that expense so that they can get back to making more money.  I feel that this will only work if the bank also goes through with the investment part of the move.  The bank needs to change its ways so that they do not continue to lose profit.  The bank currently does have plans for a new program that would involve restructuring and the 600 million euro investment.  I am not really familiar with any policies associated with the bank situation in France or exactly how the bank system works unfortunately.  

Article: http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20130507-french-bank-societe-generale-announces-job-cuts-after-profit-slump

Transportation: France

1. Water Transportation
a.  France has many, many seaports.  Such ports border the Atlantic Ocean, the Bay of Biscay,  the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea. France currently has 162 merchant marine, which is a measure of the number of ships carrying goods or all commercial vessels.  This currently ranks France 36th among other nations.
b.  I was not able to find a list of France's biggest seaport, but I was able to find a list of the "major" seaports.  Marseille is on the Mediterranean Sea, Bordeaux, Nantes and Brest are on the Atlantic Ocean, and Cherbourg, Le Havre and Dunkerque are on the English Channel.

2. Land Transportation
a. Freight transport has declined since the early 80s.  Most of the railways today are passenger railways.  Not much of France's transportation of goods is done by railway anymore.
b. France has about 30,000 km of railway for passenger trains.  In 2006, it was estimated that the number of passengers to ride along the railway was a little over a million.  France currently ranks 9th among nations in total railways.
c.  France has 951,000 km of roadways with approximately 11,100 km of expressway.  This currently ranks France 8th among nations in total roadways.

3.  Air Transportation
a.  The majority of international flights will arrive/depart from the major cities in France.  A few of these major cities include Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Nice.  It is very common that once you reach France by air, all other travel will be done by train.
b.  Other airports include airports in Caen, Rennes, Toulon and Agen among many others.  France has a total of 473 airports, which currently ranks France 17th among other nations in the number of airports.

International Trade: France

1a. Exports
How much: $58.7 billion (2012 est.)
What: machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
To whom: Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, UK, US, Netherlands

1b. Imports
How much: $658.9 billion (2012 est.)
What: machinery and equipment, vehicles, crude oil, aircraft, plastics, chemicals
To whom: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK, China

2. Exchange Rate
euros per US dollar:
0.7838 (2012)
0.7185 (2011)
0.755 (2010)
0.7198 (2009)
0.6827 (2008)

3. Immigration/Emigration
Immigration:
How much: 211,055 (2008)
From: Africa, European Union, Asia
I could not find much on Emigration from France but I did find that France has a net migration rate of 1.1 migrants/1,000 population (2012).  Because the net migration rate is positive, there are more people immigrating to France than emigrating from France.  By doing some quick calculation based on the net migration rate and the estimated number of immigrants in 2008, I found that the approximate number of emigrants in 2008 to be about 209,955.

4.  Relations with other Countries
France has relatively good standing with all countries.  France is a part of the United Nations.  France was a part of World War II.  France fought against nations such as Germany and Italy who are now very large trading allies.  France does not seem to have too many foreign enemies.

References: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html

News Summary: Crillon Hotel Flaunts Treasures Before Auction (4/23/13)

The famous hotel located in downtown Paris, Hôtel de Crillon, will be closing its doors for two years for a major renovation.  Before they close however, the hotel will be auctioning off over three thousand of items from the hotel.  Examples of items for sale include a couch that is priced at 2000 euros or about $3000, and a single bottle of wine that is priced at 7000 euros, or a little over $9000.

Understanding this auction from a supply and demand point of view sheds light on these outrageous prices.  First of all, the Hôtel de Crillon is one of the most famous hotels in all of France.  The hotel housed guests from Theodore Roosevelt to Madonna to Bill Clinton.  The demand for these items is extremely high because of the great history and luxury of the hotel.  In addition, most of these items are of a select few, meaning that there is a very, very limited supply of items to be sold.  Both the high demand and low supply leads to extremely high prices, as seen in the couch and the bottle of wine.

In addition, GDP may be effected by this major renovation.  There will definitely be an increase in investment because the hotel company will be spending millions of dollars to pay renovation companies to rebuild the hotel.  At the conclusion of construction, consumption will increase because hundreds of people will be staying at the hotel spending money.  Finally, net exports will also increase because of an increase in exports. I believe that people will travel to Paris from outside the country simply to see or to stay at the timeless hotel.  Overall, I would expect an increase in GDP.

Article: http://www.france24.com/en/20130414-crillon-hotel-france-paris-concorde-auction-cesar

"Reinventing the Bazaar" by John McMillan Chapter 4 Questions

1.  I found the part about the trucker and his laptop to be very interesting.  It thought that it was pretty funny that he had his laptop with him and he charged it by a lawn mower battery in a bowling bag.  The point of this passage was about how new methods of information have completely evolved the trucking industry.  I think it is remarkable how much technology is evolving and how it is changing the economy.  Information now is so easy to get.  I can walk into a store and do my own information retrieving by simply pulling up the product on my iPhone.

2.  I believe that when the author was referring to transaction costs, he was referring to costs to the seller that don't necessarily apply to the good being sold.  I feel that examples shed more light on the concept.  The author gives the examples of things like "money back guarantee" or the buyer being able to trust the seller not to reuse the buyer's credit card information.  Transaction costs are costs to the seller to make the buyer feel more safe in the transaction.

3.  I feel that the sellers get the upper hand when information is not evenly distributed.  When people are not informed that they can get the same good for a lower price, they will end up paying too much for the good.  In addition, as the author said, people may end up buying a good that does not necessarily the perfect fit for them.  I feel that uneven distribution of information hurts the consumer the most.  On the other hand, when information is evenly distributed, people will seek out the lower prices, giving more business to the under cutter, which leaves the other businesses with higher prices at a loss.

Abstract Paragraph

In neglecting tropical diseases and in setting drug prices high, the pharmaceutical companies are responding to the system they are in: they are reacting to the incentives of the marketplaces (pg 29).  The manufacturers will designate a specific price for each item (msrp) and the proshop seemed to follow this price (by comparing the prices in the store to other golf shops).  A competitive market means that alternatives exist (pg 6).  Some of the brands for sale included Puma, Adidas, Titleist, Travis Mathew, Ping and Nike.  Manufacturers have the power to set prices and provide goods based on demand, but competition by many companies lead to alternative options and lowered prices. 

A Fez of the Heart Article Response

1.  The most interesting part of the article for me is the story of Mustafa Yildirim and his son, Halil.  It was interesting to me because of the huge difference in lifestyle between a father and his son.  The article goes into great detail about how Mustafa's tools included a plow while Halil's tools included a fax machine.  If I were given information on the two of them, I would never be able to guess that they are even related, let alone father and son.  This story really illustrates how Pomegranate has changed in such a short period of time.

2. This article very clearly illustrates how economics and culture interact.  First of all, bikinis and nudity were very frowned upon in Pomegranate, and in some cases, people would be stoned for doing so.  Now, the people of Pomegranate will use this for advertising and for making a profit in their business.  Traditional cultural beliefs have been neglected to make a profit.  Secondly, the fez is another example of the interaction between the economy and culture.  Like the store clerk said, the fez was illegal for himself to wear, but not illegal for a tourist to wear.  The people of Pomegranate will still practice traditional values but when it comes to making money, they will gladly allow tourists to wear the fez.  It is remarkable to me how the traditional culture of Pomegranate has dwindled away in hopes of economic gain.

3.  People are drawn to the Eiffel Tower simply because it is one of those famous landmarks that everyone wants to see.  The entire city of Paris is a popular destination in France because it is known to be romantic, therefore many honeymoons and trips for couples involve Paris.  Other popular destinations include magnificent ancient building or palaces as well as beautiful natural sites.  These places are very popular because many people love the sites and will say that it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

France: Tourism

1. France welcomes 79 million tourists per year, making it the most visited country in the world.  France also maintains the third largest income from tourism.  France welcome tourists from all over the world, but from mostly more developed countries.

2. It is quite obvious that the most visited attraction in France is the Eiffel Tower.  Paris, France is the most popular destination for those visiting France.  Other visited attractions include St Tropez, Chamonix and the Palace of Versailles.

3.  France's list of national parks include Vanoise, Port-Cros, Pyrénées, Cévennes, Écrins, Mercantour, Guiana Amazonian, Réunion, Guadeloupe and Calanques.

4.  The majority of museums in France are art museums due to France's long history in music and art.  Just a few of the museums in France include Musee du Louvre (Paris), Musee d'Orsay (Paris), Musee Ingres (Montauban, the Dordogne), Musee Toulouse-Lautrec (Albi, Languedoc) and Musee de la tapisserie de Bayeux (Bayeux, Normandy).

Market Observation Paper: Kalamazoo Country Club Proshop

For my market observation, I went to the Kalamazoo Country Club proshop.  The Kalamazoo Country Club is a very highly respected private club located on Whites Rd in Kalamazoo.  For starters, it was a Sunday morning around noon; it was approximately 40 degrees outside and partially hailing.  This is obviously a market that is effective by the weather so the weather conditions may have had an effect on the number of market transactions.  As I walked in, I did not really notice any distinct smells, but I did notice that ESPN was playing on a television near the entrance.  The woman working the proshop looked middle to upper twenties, wearing golf attire, and she greeted me as I walked in.  There were two other customers in the proshop, who were talking to another man, the golf pro.  The golf pro was wearing a nice sweater and dress pants, typical for golf attire on a cold April day.  The customers consisted of a lady, approximately 40 years old, dressed in a nice Adidas golf outfit, and her son, approximately 15 years old was also well dressed in a Puma golf outfit.  The two customers and the golf pro were talking about the younger boy and his golf game, not necessarily the merchandise in the store.  A third customer entered the store and when asked by the woman working what he was in for, he expressed interest in purchasing a new pair of golf pants.  The woman quickly directed him to wear they have most of there pants as well as another smaller section of pants. The man went to the fitting room to try on the pants and upon his return, the employee asked how they fit and wanted to find him the right pants.  The man was satisfied with the pants a purchased them.

            The store seemed to be organized by one side displaying women’s clothing, another side displaying men’s clothing and a corner was dedicated to youth golf clubs and clothing.  The cashier was located in the corner next to the door and another door to the back was located across from that (for employees only).  Next to that door was a unisex fitting room.  Some of the brands for sale included Puma, Adidas, Titleist, Travis Mathew, Ping and Nike.  The proshop offered a wide variety of things, including all types of golf apparel (shirts, pants, socks, shoes, pullovers, hats, gloves), casual clothing (including t-shirts branded with Red Wings and Tigers logos), formal clothing (mostly ties and handkerchiefs) and golf balls.  Many of the shirts and hats had the Kalamazoo Country Club logo stitched into them.  Prices range from $2 for a bag of tees all the way to $100 for a pullover or a pair of pants.  A pair of Nike dress pants was priced at $85.  A Puma shirt was priced at $60.  A dozen of Titleist Pro-V1 golf balls were priced at $50. 

            The Kalamazoo Country Club proshop is a unique market to observe because of who buys and who sells the merchandise.  Obviously, who sells the merchandise is Kalamazoo Country Club, who is supplied the goods from manufacturers like Puma, Adidas, etc.  Who sells is very different than other places because it is only a small portion of the population.  First of all, it would be rare to find anyone who does not golf to shop there.  In addition, the Kalamazoo Country Club is a private club, meaning that most of the golfers who shop there are members, meaning a very select few.  The manufacturers of the goods determine prices typically.  The manufacturers will designate a specific price for each item (msrp) and the proshop seemed to follow this price (by comparing the prices in the store to other golf shops).  

France: Economy

Statistics
1. GDP- $2.58 trillion (2012 est)
2. GDP per capita- $35,500 (2012 est)
3. Life Expectancy- 81.46 years
4. Poverty Rate- 7.8% (2010)
5. Literacy Rate- 99%
6. Unemployment Rate- 10.3% (2012)
7. Inflation- 1.3% (2012 est)

Resources
1. Natural Resources- France is very limited in terms of coal, iron ores, bauxite and uranium.  France does not have much petroleum either.  On the other hand, France's soil is extremely rich, making growing food very profitable.  Because of that, France is a very large exporter of foods.  France borders the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel, and the Mediterranean Sea, all making water very accessible for agriculture.

2. Labor- 29.62 million people are employed in France (2012 est).  The school life expectancy in France is 16 years old.  According to wikipedia, "The French educational system is highly centralized, organized and ramified."  Overall, I would say that France is comparable to the United States when it comes to labor and schooling.

3. Capital- France is very advanced technologically.  France has approximately 45 million internet users as well as approximately 40 million telephone lines in use.  In addition, France has many airports and ports for transferring goods.  With that, France has approximately 30,000 km of railways used primarily for public transportation, but is also used for movement of goods.  Again, I would say that France is very comparable to the United States in terms of capital.  An advantage that France does have over the United States, however, is its close neighboring countries.  France borders Spain, Italy, Belgium and Germany, which makes imports and exports much easier than, let's say, the United States with only Canada and Mexico bordering.  France's water connections as well as land connections make movements of goods very easy.

References: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html
                   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_France

News Summary: Paris Hires Munching Sheep for Eco Lawn Mowers (4/9/13)

This news article does not necessarily describe an issue but more of a solution to a larger problem.  Lawn mowers use gasoline, a valuable source of energy, and expel a large amount of pollution with each use.  Paris has employed 4 black sheep to simply cut down the grass in a section of the city's gardens in northeastern Paris.  This is simply a pilot project, but the people behind the project anticipate that it will become widely used.

From an economical standpoint, this could cause for many changes.  If the sheep do a satisfying job in the pilot, we may find that more and more businesses will purchase sheep to "mow" their lawns.  Lawn mower businesses may see a large decrease in demand, leading to a decrease in prices and a decrease in quantity.  This could be extended to the petroleum industry who may also suffer, which is ultimately the goal, to become a world that relies less on gasoline.  On the other hand, sheep farmers may see an increase in demand, leading to an increase in prices and quantity.  The world is changing drastically due to recent efforts to reduce pollution and petroleum usage.  These changes are drastically changing markets as well, and this is just another example of how the lawn mower market, the sheep market and the petroleum market are all being affected.

This situation has been brought on by the world-wide urge to lower petroleum use as well as pollution. The issue of lawn mower businesses losing money does not necessarily need a solution because the world is trying to lose its petroleum dependance.  This pilot is a possible solution to some pollution and petroleum use, and it could lead to huge implications in the global market.

Article: http://www.france24.com/en/20130407-paris-hires-munching-sheep-france-lawnmowers-environment

France: Elements of the Local Culture

1. Popular sports in France include football, judo, tennis and basketball.  The national football and rugby teams are nicknamed "Les Bleus" after their team colors.  Tony Parker is an NBA basketball player from France.  Karim Benzema is another famous athlete from France (football).


2. During the 17th century, France was home to several famous composers including Marc-Antoine Charpentier, François Couperin, Michel-Richard Delalande, Jean-Baptiste Lully and Marin Marais.  During the '90s, '00s and now, Daft Punk, Justice and Air are popular artist illustrating their own style of modern electronic music.  

3. France is home to many different kinds of foods.  The crème brûlée is one of the most famous desserts native to France.  France is also well known for its many varieties of cheeses.  Typical meals are very similar to American meals in terms of what is served (burgers, sandwiches, fries, pizza, steak). Alcohol is much more common in France, and when asking for a water from a restaurant, you will be served sparkling water.  

4. Roman Catholicism is the most predominant religion in France.  The French Revolution created a large change in the church with its de-Christianization campaign.  The French government no longer keeps statistics on religious beliefs among the people of France.

5. National holidays in France include... New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day/Labour Day, Victory in Europe Day, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Bastille Day, Assumption of Mary to Heaven, All Saints' Day, Veterans Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and St. Stephen's Day.  A lot of these holidays are also celebrated in America.  Many of these holidays are associated with catholicism.  

6.  Movies are a huge part of the culture of France.  France is home to the famous Cannes Film Festival.    Recent popular films include Of Gods of Men, The Artist and most recently Intouchables.  Famous people of the business include actress Juliette Binoche (winner of the Best Actress Award), director Mathiew Amalric (winner of the Best Director Award) and actor Jean Dujardin (winner of the Best Actor Award).  

7. Popular News Sources:
France 24 (http://www.france24.com/en/)
The Local (http://www.thelocal.fr)

8. Forums for Expatriates
Allo' Expat France (http://www.alloexpat.com/moving_to_france_forum/)
British Expat (http://britishexpat.com/expatforum/france/index.php)

9. The French Republic is a semi-presidential republic.  The republic has been traditionally very democratic.  The government is very similar to America.  The current president of the French Republic is François Hollande (elected in 2012).

"Reinventing the Bazaar" by John McMillan Chapter 1 Questions

1. John McMillan goes into great detail about what defines a market.  "A market for something exists if there are people who want to buy it and people who want to sell it" (p. 5).  He does mention that this definition does not go deep enough into what a market is.  McMillan later says this... "A definition of a market transaction, then, is an exchange that is voluntary: each party can veto it, and (subject to the rules of the marketplace) each freely agrees to the terms.  A market is a forum for carrying out such exchanges" (p. 6).

2. I think that there is a huge spectrum where people stand when it comes to their thoughts of the market.  Many people may distrust markets most likely because they did not feel satisfied with an investment made.  Trust in the market is huge, and a bad experience can easily burn that bridge.  I feel that people that distrust non-market action use other societies as examples.  I think that people will look at other societies with very small, weak markets, look at their way of life, and feel that it is very basic and not very pleasurable.  For me, I feel that non-market action would put society at a large disadvantage in advancing technology.  I think that markets are extremely necessary and, without question, irreplaceable for the advancement of technology and for the future of society.

3. I am not entirely familiar with the market today so this may not be entirely true.  From what I can remember from my high school history class, I believe that the government outlawed monopolies after the strong monopolies of the early 20th century.  Monopolies can be very detrimental to the economy because monopolies will, with ease, drive small businesses out of business.  I believe that the government has several laws in place to avoid a single power in the economy.  These laws are in place to keep the economy going strong.  Another "rule" could be copyright laws associated with downloading online music.  Without these laws, music would be (and still is) illegally downloaded and artists would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars.  $1.29 may not seem like too much money for the artist to be missing out on, but if a million people illegally download a song, the artist is losing $1.3 million.  We could find that becoming an artist is less lucrative and music could no longer be made (now that's a little extreme but artists are losing a lot of money).

"Why Did Human History Unfold..." by Jared Diamond Questions

a. Diamond talks about the drastic differences in the overall human population and the differences in evolving technologies over the last 13,000 years.  Diamond gives his thoughts about geographical differences among varying societies.  He explains that most people would like to think that these differences originated in biological differences, while he explains how this simply is not true.  He goes into detail about why he thinks Europeans were dominant in colonizing various continents (more described in part b).  Diamond's key points are these important factors (b) that can be used to describe how societies differ.

b. Diamond emphasizes that the differences in societies around the world is not biological, but more geographical.  Diamond explains that the Europeans success in making technological advances started with the ability of wild plants and animals to be domesticated.  In addition, the east/west axis of Europe provided for easy spread of these domestication due to little variations in climate.  Diamond also explains that this led to "the rise of human population numbers, population densities, and food surpluses, which in turn contributed decisively to the development of epidemic infectious diseases, writing, technology, and political organization."  These factors lead,  obviously to different societies having varying amounts of power.  In addition, isolation from other societies, like in Tasmania, will limit technological advances.  Information about tools and techniques were/are shared between cultures, leading to a faster rate of technological advancement.  

c.  It is obvious that the effects from the factors described in (b) are still being felt today.  Europe has become very technologically advanced (and areas colonized by Europeans) while other areas of the world suffer technologically.  For example, we live in a society today where food is mass produced by a small percentage of the population so that the rest of the people can use there time to provide other services to society.  Food is a necessity that is greatly taken for granted.  We simply expect the farmers of society to provide food for us.  In other societies of the world, food does not come as easily.  In tribes, for example, hunting and gathering is a way of life.  This is a much different society where each day, tasks are done for survival, rather than for research, work, play, leisure, etc.  The economies today differ greatly across the world, and these differences are a result of the factors described in (b).